Study: Heavy Snowfall Associated with Increased MI Risk in Men

A recent study found that hospital admissions for myocardial infarction (MI) and death increased following snowfall, particularly in men, with both the quantity and duration of snowfall associated with subsequent risk.

Previous studies using aggregated data have suggested a link between snowfall and MI, but have not assessed individual risk with nonaggregated data.
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
RELATED CONTENT
Study: Hospital Admissions for Cardiovascular Disease Increase After Snowfall
Coronary Artery Calcium in Midlife Increases Risk for Heart Disease
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

The researchers performed a case-crossover study including 128,073 individual MI-related hospital admissions and 68,155 MI-related deaths between November and April during the years 1981-2014 in Quebec, Canada. The quantity and duration of snowfall by day were measured using weather information from Environment Canada, and odd ratios were computed to determine associations between daily snowfall and MI, which were adjusted for minimum daily temperatures.

Their findings showed that risk for MI increased the day after snowfall in men, but not in women. Odds ratios among men for 20 cm of snowfall compared with 0 cm of snowfall were 1.16 for hospital admissions and 1.34 for deaths due to MI. In addition, the association between MI risk and snowfall remained high after researchers adjusted for age and other variables. However, the researchers suggested that the highest risk was in men over 50 who were inactive or had a risk of cardiovascular disease.

“Corresponding [odds ratios] among women were 1.01 (95% CI 0.95–1.07) and 1.04 (95% CI 0.96–1.13),” the researchers wrote.

Likewise, researchers observed similar but smaller associations between snowfall duration (0 hours vs 24 hours) and increased risk of MI.

“Both the quantity and duration of snowfall were associated with subsequent risk of hospital admission or death due to MI, driven primarily by an effect in men. These data have implications for public health initiatives in regions with snowstorms,” the researchers concluded.

—Melissa Weiss

Reference:

Auger N, Potter BJ, Smargiassi A, Bilodeau-Bertrand M, Paris C, and Kosatsky T. Association between quantity and duration of snowfall and risk of myocardial infarction [published online February 13, 2017]. CMAJ. doi:10.1503/cmaj.161064.